Sheet adjuster for printing presses



Jan. 8 1924.

H. S. HORNBECK SHEET ADJUSTER FOR PRINTING PRESSES I Filed Dec. 8. 1921 /V VEN TOR Patented Jan. 8, 1924.

STTES HENRY S. HORNBECK, OF UNION HILL, NEW JERSEY.

SHEET ADJUSTER FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

Application filed December 8, 1921. Serial No. 520,909.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY S. HORNBECK,

`a citizen of the United States, residing at 333 Park Avenue, Union Hill, in the State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Sheet Adjusters for Printing Presses, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof.

rlhis invention has for its object to provide an improved device, operated by t-he movement of the press itself, for the purpose of moving' into accurately registered position each s eet of paper when it has been placed by hand or by an automatic feeder, upon the platen of a printing press. Vhen such a sheet is placed upon the platen it comes to rest by gravity against the bottom stops; if by chance it rests against the side stop no further movement of the sheet is necessary, but since the sheet is generally thrown toward the side stop it generally rebounds slightly therefrom and sometimes does not reach the side stop. lt is therefore necessary that the sheet, after it has been placed on the platen, resting against the bottom stops, be moved toward the side stop with an easy motion which will cause no reboundl and by a device which has a range of movement greater than the maximum displacement of the sheet. The device which moves the sheet should also be of such a character that it will move the sheet only so far as may he necessary to place it in contact with the side stop and without any tendency to cause the sheet to buckle. The sheet moving device or sheet adjuster which forms the subject of this invention has been devised with a view to the meeting of these requirements in a satisfactory manner, the device being so Aconstructed*that it can be adapted readily to sheets of different thicknesses and different degrees of stiffness. ln accordance. with the invention there is mounted on the platen of the press, by means which permit it to be placed in whatever position may be required, a movable shifter which receives the sheet of paper, as between the finger and thumb of a hand and with a readily adjustable pressure which is suited to the character of the sheet, and is then, at the proper time in the operation of the press, moved in the direction yof the side stop, carrying the sheet with it until its movement is resisted by contact of its edge with the side stop and continuing its own movement thereafter while permitting'the sheet of paper to remain in position without being buckled. The invention will be more fully explained hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing in which it is illustrated and in which- V v Figure l is a view in elevation showing a portion of the platen` of a press with its stops and the improved shifter in position thereon and with a portion of the usual gripper -bar which carries the usual gripper arms, the shifter being shown in its normal position of rest.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the' shifter moved through its full range -of movement with the sheet in-position againsty the stops.

Figure 3 is a view in end elevation as seen from the right hand in Figure 2.

Figure 4. is a detail View of the holder which supports the shifter.

Figure 5 is a detail view in section on the plane indicated on the broken line 5-.5 of Figure 4. v

Figure 6 is a detail view of the shifter removed from its support.

Figure 7 is a view in section on the plane indicated by the broken line v7-7 of Figure 6.

The improved shifter, as will be understood, is capable of application to presses of different constructions. It is shown herein as applied to an ordinary platen a which has stretched upon it as usual a fabric sheet b of some suitable material, as cloth or paper and as having in pivoted relation therewith a gripper bar c which carries the usual gripper arms which serve to hold the printed sheet against the' platen as it moves awayl from the typeafter the vimpression has beenv made. It is not necessary to show or describe herein the mea-ns by which the relative movement of the platen and the gripper bar is effected, since such means are common in the art, it being understood that the one has a swinging movement with respect to the other about their common axis which in this case is indicated at c. Bottom stops Z against which the lower edge of the paper sheet c rests by gravity, are secured to the platen in proper position. As shown, each stop is provided with a single sharpened and bent finger or prong d which is slipped into the platen sheet Y) to secure the stop in position. There is also secured to f the platen or tolits sheet b, in lany suitable manner, a side stop f against which the edge of the paper e must rest when the sheet is in proper position and against which it is to be moved by the shifter.

rlhe shifter which forms the subject of this invention comprises two opposed fingers g and L which are adapted to receive between them the edge of the sheet of paper, the'linger g beingy curved aivayfroni the platen' and rounde'don its contact side while the finger h is bent toward the platen, as indicated at 7L. rllhe two fingers are pressed together `with an adjustable and yielding pressure as by a thumb screw e', a yielding cushion z" being interposed between t ie two so that /the two fingersy can be pressed more or vles's tightly together and the pressure withwhich the paper sheet is held between them be regulated according to the thicle ness and stiffness of the paper which is being printed.: The two lingers are pivoted together, as by a pivot 7c, upon a base or holder- Zwhich is provided with pointed and bent prongs Z by which the holder can be secured in position on the platen sheet Z). A spring m is secured to the base vor holder Z for (3o-operation with the shifter for the purpose of returning it to normal position when it isreleas'ed by the operating means hereinafter' described. The shifter is also provided with an operating arm h2 which is connected, as by a cord n, ywithy an adjustable clamp c3 mounted on the gripper bai'y c. i

in operation the sheet of paper, when fed againstythe bottom stops either by hand or otherwise, is received by the shifter between the fingers g and 7L with a pressure which isvso regulated as to be sufficientto move the y sheet of paper ywhen such movement is not resisted by a stop. Asthe relative positions ofthe platen and gripper bar change in the operation lof the press, in the usual manner, the cord n is tightened and the shifter' is movedfrom the normal position shown in Figure l yto one side, as shown in Figure 2, carrying the sheet ofy paper to one side until its movement is resisted by the side stop 7.

As soonas the movementof thesheet of paper is resisted by the sidestep the shifter slips with reference to the sheet of paper, leaving thesheet of paper in position against the side stop without any rebound. Obviously the sheet of paper, after being printed, might be withdrawn readily from the shifter, whatever its movement or position, without danger of tearing, but when the shifter has a swinging movement, as described,`the shifter itself, as it completes its movement, will swing clear of the lower edge of the sheet of paper, as it rests upon the bottoni stops, as shown in Figure 2.

It will be seen that the sheetA of paper to be adjusted and printed is received by the shifter with a yielding pressure adapted to the quality of the paper, is moved gently toward the side stop and comes to rest against the same without rebounding and that when the sheet has come to rest in its proper position the shifter continues its movement regardless of the position of the sheet when engaged by the shifter, without any tendencyV to cause the sheet to buckle. In this position the sheet is secured by the grippers and is lheld during the making of the impression.

lt will be understood that changes in details of construction and arrangement can be made to suit different conditions of use and that except as pointed outin the accoinpanying claim, the invention is not limited to the particular construction shown and described herein.

l claim as my invention:

A sheet adjuster for printing presses comprising movable and opposed lingers adapted to receive between them with a yielding pressure the sheet to be printed, a yielding cushion interposed between the fingers, means to press the iingers together,

and means tomove the fingers to carry the sheet i with them until its movement is resisted.

This specification signed this 5th day of December, A. D. 1921.

HENRY S. HORNBECK. 

